12:55 PM: We need to say for starters that this is ***NOT yet verified*** BUT we don’t want to wait any longer before putting something out in case it is.

This is all according to scanner information. SPD has just tweeted something we will add in a moment.

Police got a call that a man was seen “duct taping” and putting a child in a pickup truck near Gatewood Elementary School. The truck was described as silver, no canopy. The man was described as wearing a black robe and blue jeans.

Every officer in the area is on the lookout, while the school is doing a head count to make sure no one was missing.

We have a crew on the way to the school to see if this has been verified. If we hear anything more about the description of the POSSIBLE truck, we will let you know.

12:58 PM UPDATE: All SPD has tweeted is “Officers investigating possible student abduction in West Seattle. Still working to confirm. More details to come.”

Our crew is now in the Gatewood Elementary area, but there’s no additional information available there so far.

A bit of added description information: The possible suspect is a white male, in his 30s/40s. The possible victim was described as wearing a pink top, 6 to 12 years old, long black hair.

The description being broadcast citywide says the report comes from a 6-year-old who reported seeing this happen at a “nearby house.” That house is reported to be on the Frontenac side (north side) of the school. That street is currently closed off.

Police are continuing to put out information via Twitter, all details we have published already. Still no word of anyone being CONFIRMED missing.

1:17 PM: Police have reiterated via Twitter that there is no verification of anyone missing yet but say they “do not believe a child was taken from a school.” Commenter Steph, who is a Gatewood parent, says she has spoken with the school office and they said ALL students there are accounted for.

1:38 PM: We’re monitoring all info channels, but there is nothing new.

1:59 PM: If you saw police with a silver truck on 48th SW a short time ago – it was checked out but determined NOT to be related. Meantime, Seattle Public Schools public affairs says that while Gatewood’s doors are locked as a precaution, they are not technically in lockdown or shelter-in-place status, and are still working out dismissal details, though expecting it to be at the regular time.

2:21 PM: Police are still keeping an eye out for any potential vehicles but otherwise standing down a bit. No word of an actual missing child anywhere, but nor has the sighting been explained. If anything new emerges, we’ll add it here.

2:26 PM: There’s been conflicting info about Gatewood’s status between what parents were told and what the district told us. We just got a call from the school directly, and here’s the CURRENT information: The school is not currently sheltering-in-place. Dismissal and after-school activities will be normal.

5:52 PM – A REQUEST FROM POLICE: Southwest Precinct Sgt. Joe Bauer asked us to publish this request: If your home or business is within a square mile or so of Gatewood Elementary (which fronts on both Myrtle and Frontenac just west of California) and you have a video-camera system – or happened to be rolling video in the area for any other reason – please check it, particularly for the time period between about 12:30 pm and 1 pm today. If you see anything at all that might be of interest to police related to this investigation, please e-mail him at joseph.bauer@seattle.gov. (We are also mentioning this in comments and will post it separately.)

7:46 PM:SPD Blotter has just summarized what police have learned so far, but the bottom line remains: “At this point, officers have not found any evidence that a crime occurred.”

79 Comments

If this turns out to be accurate – swift prayers for the child and for SPD in locating.

Thanks, Steph, we can’t get close to the school and had not heard an update regarding everyone being accounted for. But 12-year-old (IF accurate and IF this turns out to be real) would be too old for elementary anyway.

I was walking with my baby and husband twenty minutes ago at California and Fauntleroy. I saw police officers stop a truck in the turn lane matching the description and search it. They then let it go. So terrifying to now know what they were searching for.

Thanks, Amy, after Steph wrote that, we added to the story. Still no new info – this has been broadcast to police everywhere in the city, though, and even before that, police were assigned to watch bridge ramps and other routes out of the area.

Thank god all kids are accounted for. So scary. What with all the news lately of flashers and creeps around schools.. Good job to the 6 year old who spoke up. Did exactly what anyone should have done in that situation.

I just called the school (as my child attends it) they ARE on lockdown. SO you have to show up at 2:50 like normal, and WAIT until they will reliece your child to you. I am “assuming” you will need your ID. So scary. I hope it is not true.

SPS public affairs says the school is not on lockdown. The doors are locked, but technically, spokesperson Lesley Rogers says, they are not on lockdown or shelter in place. They’re still working on how dismissal will be handled.

Melinda – they ARE NOT in lockdown. I just spoke with someone in the office. There is a difference between lockdown and SIP by the way. She also said they are about to end the SIP. After school clubs are still on.

Yikes! I never thought I’d say this, but this is a case where I’m praying that someone is ‘telling porkies’; the alternative is too monstrous to contemplate. Regardless, it must be acted upon, and SPD is to be commended for it’s rapid response!

On google street view there is a white and gray pickup truck parked in front of 4318 SW Frontenac. I used to live at that address and I think that is a familiar vehicle there.

The whole duct-tape-a-young-kid thing sounds really bad though. And a 12 year old getting abducted sounds really awful, and no, it wouldn’t be a Gatewood student but some other school’s student. Hope they are checking out other schools nearby for head counts.

I hope that it was a child’s overactive or Halloween-based imagination. The local flashing incidents recently don’t make me feel so good about this though.

Glad to see that the police and SPS are taking this situation completely seriously. Frankly, they always seem to do so.

Received a robo call from the interim principal of Madison Middle School alerting of the alleged abduction. They are asking that parents account for their children before & after school & ensure kids are monitored. I also received a note regarding the flasher a few days ago. We are new to this area & I am overwhelmed with fear. My kids aren’t going anywhere without me. Are we to alert SPD of silver trucks?

as far as the reliability of a witness that age, maybe kids will surprise you… last night during KIR’s news, they showed part of an ‘on the street’ interview with the Canadian sex offender escapee. before I had a chance to change the channel, my 5 year old piped up and said ‘hey that’s the same guy that dad was looking at on the computer.’
he had seen the photo here on WSB from across the room earlier that day and dad wasn’t even pointing out the guy or the photo to the kid. kids are observant.

This is a good opportunity for all schools in the area to make sure there are plenty of adults on the playgrounds during recess breaks, particularly with the fog limiting visibility. I am sure there are plenty of parents who would volunteer some time at lunch at recess breaks to avert flashing and luring risks and opportunities. More adults supervising and walking the playground perimeters next to streets would also reduce opportunities for perpetrators.

Hopefully this was a false alarm, but also a wake-up call that we all need to be more watchful.

I have a child at Gatewood and this is scary! With all the other things happening in the neighborhood lately, this is really the icing on the cake… I agree with Alki Forever, what is becoming of West Seattle? Hope this was just a false alarm, but am feeling super worried now.

I have to agree with Sam-C. Eyewitnesses can be notoriously unreliable, but this witness’s age shouldn’t be assumed to be a liability. At that age, many kids have sharp eyes and ought to be taken as seriously as any other passerby.

I’m wondering if maybe this kid saw SOMETHING and with all the panic going on regarding the flasher/etc, they let their imagination run away with them? I really hope that’s the case. I’m glad they’re checking it out regardless.

Kids used to report seeing weird things in the woods at Schmitz all the time after there was a report of someone lurking around the fence… Either way I feel absolutely awful for all the kids in West Seattle these days… I’m sure it’s a scary time to be on the playground. :(

ACG – I can only say that as we continue to monitor radio communications, police are continuing to respond to reports from people who think they MIGHT have some information. My completely unofficial opinion would be call it in and let the dispatcher ask you the questions. Might be something they’ve already checked out, might not. You just never know.

Thanks to everyone who is keeping an eye out and alerting the police to potential tips. I have a child in SPS in West Seattle, not at Gatewood, and it just sickens and horrifies me to think of what may have happened. I hope this turns out to be nothing.

There has been a lot of stuff going on lately. I don’t really think WS is getting worse. If we lived in these are still things that happen. I remember flashers and kidnappings and the like when I was a kid many years ago. The difference it we receive the alerts on TV, Phones, tables, laptops, netbooks, PC, etc . . . instead of watching the 5′oclock news.
Everyone just needs to be more aware of their surroundings and kids need to keep getting educated.
I still feel safe in WS and won’t let flashers, kidnappers, gangsters, etc . . bother me.
My 2 cents.

Has it even been confirmed that an incident happened? People are becoming a bit paranoid. I want every child to be safe and feel secure, but lately I feel nervous just walking by a playground on the way to a store. I am an adult male. If I smile at or say something to a child will someone view me with suspicion? It’s a sad situation.

Well said Wes. The world is as scary as you let the media make it. Your kid is no more likely to be abducted now than when you were growing up. If you haven’t figured it out yet, the news media is there to instill fear and paranoia in us. I gave up on watching the news a long time ago and have been a lot happier ever since. I appreciate the blog for their reporting of what is going on in the west and for not trying to make everyone paranoid like the local news channels do. It’s kind of crazy how the blog reports something as a possible abduction and everyone starts freaking out and going nuts about perverts and this and that. Let’s wait until all the facts are out before jumping to crazy conclusions people. It’s a good possibility that kid thought he/she saw what he/she didn’t actually see. Stop watching the news and enjoy life people!

Hey all – Interrupting this discussion for a request from police. I have just added it to the story, and will publish it separately atop the page, but for anyone just hitting “refresh” to check in on comments – they are continuing to try to verify what if anything happened:

REQUEST FROM POLICE: Southwest Precinct Sgt. Joe Bauer asked us to publish this request: If your home or business is within a square mile or so of Gatewood Elementary (which fronts on both Myrtle and Frontenac just west of California) and you have a video-camera system – or happened to be rolling video in the area for any other reason – please check it, particularly for the time period between about 12:30 pm and 1 pm today. If you see anything at all that might be of interest to police related to this investigation, please e-mail him at joseph.bauer@seattle.gov.

We live a half block from the school. Someone from Q13 knocked on our door since we had some toys in the front yard, wanted to interview me about the ‘scary stuff going on in the neighborhood’. Meh, no thanks to being that guys helping sensationalize this stuff. I found it weird.

No issue with increased awareness and talking to our kids. But hysteria? Top Story at 11 o’clock news! Not warranted.

Work towards putting safeguards in place, without relying on ten year old Google Earth photos to target likely innocent residents. Advocate for effective policing to root out a menace, but don’t call out every silver truck when we don’t even know if a crime has taken place!

Crikey! Not to exaggerate but this is how the Salem witch hunts happened…

I am very impressed with how Gatewood staff and police have handled this report so seriously even though it is unconfirmed. I hope the witness misunderstood what she saw, but I also hope that everyone who validated her perception is proud of their responce.

It could be a child from a totally different neighborhood, city or state. They usually don’t go for the kid next door when they do such a thing. That could be the reason why there are no missing children around the area reported. That is just one of a lot of other possible scenarios that would explain it.

I think children should be taken seriously, a lot can be overlooked by not doing so and they will be safer if we do. It’s better to get a false alarm than a crime that could be stopped overlooked because a child reported it, specially in front an elementary school. My son goes there and that is just comforting to know that police act so fast.

Nothing new – it was a rehash of yesterday. Which sometimes (speaking as a former morning-newscast executive producer) is all you can do in the early morning. I believe at least one crew was pulled from here to get over to the I-5 mess, which was breaking around 7 am. – TR

This was a six year old who got caught up in her imagination and likely her parents’ worry over the recent flasher incidents. Everyone needs to calm down. Gatewood staff is being extremely cautious and vigilant. Be careful when talking to your children about this stuff. Their rumor -mills can be really scary and Unfortunately our local radio and tv media live for this stuff !!!